The Crow: City of Biker Mice
by The Third Biker Scholar
Summary: When a person dies, the crow shows them the way to the next world. But if weighed down with too much pain and sorrow, the crow can sometimes bring the lost soul back, to make it right...
1. Chapter 1

I watched The Crow the other day, and the plot bunny bit me hard.

Disclaimer: I don't own BMFM or The Crow.

Chapter one

It had been a year since the day Charley died.

Throttle, Vinnie, and Modo had rolled in the garage like normal from a night on patrol, laughing and joking about the latest smack-down on Limburger's thugs. Vinnie couldn't wait to brag to Charley about the sweet tricks he'd done on his bike this time. All laughter had stopped when they saw the scattered tools on the garage floor, puddles of oil and gasoline spread in wide arcs. The radio that had a direct link to their helmets was in several pieces against the wall. Broken glass was all over the kitchen, blood spatters on the floor. Small patches of blood had been spilled on the stairs to the floor above, smeared as if something--or someone--had been dragged up the stairs.

They had frantically called for her over and over, praying for some kind of answer and getting nothing but terrifying silence. Modo had beaten Vinnie up the stairs, throwing open the door to her room and freezing in horror. He'd desperately shouted to Throttle to keep Vinnie away, but the white mouse was having none of it, tearing out of his bro's grip to go in. All three mice saw her body, beaten and broken, her wrists and ankles tied to the bedposts. Their cries of denial and greif rang out for what felt like forever, but nothing they did or said could bring their girl back.

She had been dead for three hours, the coroner's report read. She had suffered severe blunt force trauma, dying of internal bleeding and severe hemorrhaging in her brain. And post-mortem examination had shown that she had been raped by multiple people. The police concluded that the oil and gasoline spread throughout the property had been the perpetrators' attempt to cover the evidence by burning it down. A cigarette had been found on the scene, thankfully too drowned in oil to light the rest of the fuel.

Despite the dozens of fingerprints found at the scene, no link could be made to existing criminal records. The police had no leads, and since nothing had been stolen, no motive for the crime. Charlene Davidson had been well-liked in the community, a volunteer at the local orphanage, a fair business woman by all accounts.

Chef Andy had taken responsibility for the boys, knowing that it was what Charley would have wanted. He arranged for a simple service for the girl, her body creamated and the ashes scattered over the grounds of her home. He had explained that by law, no property that held a person's remains could be sold until all the remains could be gathered and moved to another place of rest. And there was no way anyone could prove they had every bit of ash left. The mice had found a bitter comfort in the knowledge that after all the battles to protect her home, her death had guaranteed her home was now safe from Limburger's schemes forever.

They had been nearly inconsolable, falling into a deep depression that it seemed like nothing could shake. They had stopped checking in with Mars, leaving Stoker and Carbine completely in the dark as to what was going on. The only thing that mattered to them now was finding the ones who had killed their Charley-girl and making them pay. And the only people they could think of that would do something like this were Limburger's goons.

The biker mice had burned the tower down, destroying every attempt the Plutarkian made at rebuilding. It had been the mad scientist Karbunkle that had suggested building a base hidden underground: the very earth they sought to destroy would now protect them.

And it had worked. Without the destruction of Limburger's operations, the fish could save the money and buy the services of even more villains. The mice were now fighting almost nonstop, barely having time to heal from injuries before receiving new ones again. And while Vinnie did his best, their bikes were almost always in a state of near disrepair without an experienced mechanic to help them.

They called in every ally they could get to help, and even the efforts of Jack McCyber's hacking into surveillance satellites couldn't find Limburger's base. With the villains going nonstop, they couldn't catch every crooked deal and plot, and parts of Chicago were going up in smoke.

It had been a year since the day Charley died.

Things were looking grim indeed. Such chaos and destruction was not supposed to happen, not like this.

The Powers the Be made a decision. It was time that Charlene Davidson came home.

*&*&*&*&

Birds over Chicago were not unusual.

Birds over the Last Chance Garage, that wasn't unusual.

Dozens on dozens of black crows clinging to every square inch of the roof, every window, every door of the garage in the last moments of the sunset: that was unusual.

They swarmed over the unassuming building, the normally raucous birds eerily silent. They went completely still as the last crest of the sun sank beneath the horizon. When the last of th light faded, the sky turning inky black, one of the birds began to tap its beak on the roof. One by one the other birds began to tap in time with it until the sound rang out like dozens of hammers beating in unison.

A lazy wind began to swirl around the garage, getting stronger as it went, pulling up the dust from the earth outside. Inside the building the dust of the past year began to stir with the same wind. The birds kept up their fierce tapping, several panes of window glass breaking, the dust from outside pouring in. Gradually, bit by bit, a form took shape in the swirling mass.

Slowly, the form of a young woman appeared, arms raised, bracing herself against the storm winds.

A single crow cawed.

The violent winds ceased.

The girl fell forward, hair tangled about her face, scraps of once fine clothing clinging to her body. She barely caught herself from hitting the floor, trembling as the cold air shocked her skin. She began to shiver, hunching over for warmth and glancing around to get her bearings. She stood on shaking legs, blinking to adjust to the lack of light.

A large crow worked its way in through a broken window pane, hopping from the window sill to the floor in front of the girl. It caught her attention and met her curious gaze. Blue eyes locked with jet black.

The memories began to come back to her.

Her first steps, unsteady on bare feet, into welcoming arms. Her hair being combed with gentle care. Kicking off a frilly dress because it had itched and being scolded for tearing the fine lace. Her first day of school, how she'd been so scared to go into that big building without her-_(Mommy, I remember now, she died when I was six.)_

Playing with tools far too big for her hand, a deep voice saying how proud he was of her. Her first bike ride, his large hands holding onto the seat until she was brave enough to go on her own. The first time she ever tried on the heavy gold band, on her thumb because it didn't have a chance at staying on any other finger. _(Dad, oh god, I almost forgot about that, he loved that ring.)_

She remembered childhood, high school, her first crush _(Jack, sweet stubborn Jack, you were gentle that first time, my first lover.)_ She remembered her father, teaching her everything she knew about machines, never saying she couldn't because she was a girl. She remembered the day she won her first racing trophy, how proud he was, she remembered the day he died and they laid him to rest. The garage, _(The Last Chance, because there wasn't another decent mechanic in this direction for fifty miles)_, it was hers, her home.

White, tan, grey fur; warm arms, warm smiles, she knew them better than anyone. Her boys; the Martian mice that she loved so much. Aliens and mad scientists, her world was a B-rated movie. The wild adventures, the thrills of racing with them, fighting by their side. Vinnie and Throttle and Modo. Oh god, how could she have forgotten the best time of her life?

Her life?

Wait, something had happened, there towards the end, right?

The end?

The memories began to come back to her.

Greasepit and his thugs had ambushed her as she had got out of the bathroom, they had been watching, waiting for the right time to attack. They had caught her so fast, she couldn't reach the radio, couldn't cry out, couldn't stop them as they had-

They had-

She had--

The screams rang out, the crows outside instantly flying away in a flurry of feathers and caws. She screamed and screamed, doubling over at the memory of pain and fear and death. Her body rebelled at the horror, trying to throw up, but nothing came but dry heaves, every limb shaking in terror.

Only the crow at her feet was undisturbed. It patiently waited for her screams to stop, her crying to slow from hysterical sobs to streams of tears. She was on her knees now, face buried in her hands.

The crow cawed.

She remained still, her breath gasping and hiccuping from her fit.

It cawed again.

Slowly her head lifted, her hands falling into her lap.

Blue eyes met jet black


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own BMFM or The Crow

Chapter 2

_The Scoreboard_

The alarm clock rang out its annoying chirp, six p.m. on a cold winter night. The tan mouse groaned, reluctantly sitting up in bed. It was his turn for night patrol. A furry arm swung out and slapped the machine almost out of existence, giving the mouse a nasty shock for his efforts. Throttle scowled at the clock's remains. In pain already. This was going to be a bad day.

Throttle glanced over at the calender, noting the date. His breath hissed through his teeth as he fought against the memories that came to the front of his mind. One year ago today--

Vinnie stopped smiling, stopped laughing, stopped living. The spark of life in him was gone, snuffed out the moment he saw his girl lying dead. The stunts became wilder, crazier, even more dangerous than before. His bros knew the truth about it, though. They were poorly veiled attempts at suicide. Often, after the end of a particularly death-defying stunt and saving the day, Vincent would have the most lost and defeated look on his face. As if he was asking, 'why didn't I die?'

Whenever he was kicking Plutarkian tail was the only time Vincent actually seemed to be alive.

Modo stopped joking, stopped rough-housing, stopped singing. He couldn't bear the silence between his bros any more. The only time he smiled was when he went to visit the orphanage, surrounding himself with innocent children. He went to see them almost every other day now. It was the only time he actually seemed to be alive.

As for Throttle, he stopped smiling, stopped joking. It was like her death had taken all the light and laughter they knew with it. The only time he seemed to be alive was when he was fighting beside his bros, because he had to fight to keep them alive. He had to fight to give them hope.

One year ago, today, his best friend had died because they had been incredibly stupid and selfish, and dragged her into their war.

He reached over to his wallet and opened it up to the picture he liked best. Charley and Carbine on either side of him, with Stoker harassing Vinnie and Modo laughing and joking with Rimfire right beside them. It had been the only picture ever taken of them all together. Throttle traced the shape of her face with a single finger, a sting coming from the edges of his eyes where tear ducts used to be_. Oh hell_, he thought to himself. _This was going to be a very bad day. _

*&*&*&*&*&

A motorcycle rolled up to Chef Andy's Hoagie Palace through the rain. The old man glanced out, surprised at having a customer this late at night. A bike he thought he recognized, a beat up white and blue cruiser, was now parked and a girl was coming up the stairs.

She wore a pair of black jeans, a white tank top, and a long black duster coat, with beat up brown cowboy boots. The hood of the duster was pulled low over her face, a pair of simple black sunglasses on her nose. He caught the impression of brown hair, and her skin was milky white, paler even than Vinnie's fur. She looked young and frail, far too young to be out on her own.

But what really caught his attention was the black bird on her shoulder. It was easily the biggest crow he had ever seen, with brilliant blue eyes that seemed to glow. It jumped from her shoulder to the stair rail under the awning, cawing softly at her as it preened its feathers. Andy mentally shrugged: it took all kinds, with all kinds of pets.

He came over to open the door for her, motioning her inside. "Come on in here, honey, you'll catch your death out there on a night like this."

She paused a moment at his words, a strange look on her face before she smiled, stepping inside. "Thank you, sir."

He smiled back at her. _A polite night owl,_ he thought to himself, _what a pleasant change of pace._ "Now what can I get you? A turkey club? How about a hot ham and cheese, something to warm you up?"

She looked embarrassed as she pulled out one of her pockets, the universal gesture of being broke. "Actually, could I just have a glass of water?"

He led her over to the counter, clucking his tongue at her as she sat on the bar stool. "Don't you worry about a thing. You just sit right there and dry off." He bustled behind the counter, fixing a quick sandwich for the girl and making a cup of hot chocolate.

"Oh, sir, I can't pay for this," she protested.

He shook his head as if talking to a child. "I told you not worry, now, didn't I? I'm sorry I'm out of coffee right now. Tomorrow's shopping day, I hope you don't mind."

"Sir, I'm not so rude as to look a gift horse in the mouth," she said with a soft laugh. The girl sipped her chocolate slowly, savoring the taste. "This is delicious. Just how I like it."

"There was another girl I knew that liked her hot chocolate like that. I just took the recipe from her," he said, his voice going quiet. "Poor girl's gone now."

"She meant a lot to you?" The girl asked softly.

"Yes," he replied. "She was the daughter I never had."

"I'm sorry for your loss," the girl said, her voice sincere. She paused for a moment, clearly debating with herself about something before she spoke. "Andy"--

The crow outside cawed twice.

They both looked out the shop window as a large dune buggy roared up to the parking lot. Two black leather-clad men jumped out, heading up the stairs and slamming open the door. They were thick and burly, faces rough and covered in stubble. Definitely not the kind of guy you want to meet in a dark ally. The girl took one look at them and flinched back, suddenly trembling from head to toe. Andy glanced over and saw her reaction, gently touching her hand. He motioned over to behind the counter, where a metal bat was hung. Her shaking slowly stopped, but she kept her gaze on the two goons.

She recognized those two. They worked for Limburger. They had trashed the Last Chance Garage.

They were two members of the group of five men that killed her.

The two men ordered some hoagies and fries. Andy hurried to get it ready, anxious to get them out of here. Something about rain always made men eager to fight, and those two looked like born brawlers. He glanced over to the girl. She had gone from shaking in her boots to glaring with something like hatred in her eyes. When they looked over to her, she ducked her head back down. _Good girl,_ Andy thought. _Just keep looking down, and don't catch their attention._

But the thugs were now staring at her, sizing her up. Thug #1 nudged his friend, "Hey Ron, check out that freak-o. I thought Goths were endangered around here."

"They are," Ron said. He grinned, "From us."

Andy slammed the plates of food down in front of them. "Your orders, sir."

"Hey now, old timer, no need to get testy on us," the goon said.

"Yeah," Ron came in, "No need for you to get testy with us, or me and Sid," he pulled out

a jack knife, "might have to get testy with you."

"I don't want no trouble here," Andy said. "But I would appreciate it if you left the lady alone. She hasn't done anything to you."

Sid glanced back over to the girl. "Fine. But only if you do something for us."

"What's that?"

He pulled out a gun from his leather jacket. "Empty the register, now."

"You got it, man," the chef said calmly. Andy had been a soldier in the army back in Vietnam. He knew how to keep cool under fire. The cook moved slowly, as to not startle them, and to try and figure out how to reach the panic button the mice had installed for him under the counter. One push, and the boys would come running.

The girl stood up from her chair. The moment those men had walked in, the memories of her rape and death at their hands had nearly overwhelmed her mind. It had sent shudders of fear and remembered pain though her system, making her shake like a leaf. But that had passed, and raging anger replaced the terror. Now they were threatening Chef Andy. _Oh hell, no_. Charlene Davidson wasn't about to stand by and let some punks push her friend around.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

Sid looked over at her, the gun swinging around to point directly at her face. His voice was calm, but his eyes had a crazy light to them as he spoke. "Little girl, you go sit back down there and shut up, and we won't have to see you bleeding."

She sneered at him, "I'm used to being knocked around."

He fired the gun point blank at her face, the sunglasses shattering as the bullet went through her eye and out the back of her head.

Andy cried out in stunned denial.

She fell to the floor, blood pooling on the white tile from the hole in her face.

"I told you to shut up," Sid said with a grin.

"Dammit, Sid, now we have to shoot the old man too," Ron complained. "You know we can't have a witness. I actually like the 'dogs here, man."

"You--you monsters," Andy breathed. "She was an innocent girl, what did she ever do to you?"

"She was mouthy, and I don't believe we asked for your moral opinion," Sid snapped. "Now finish fixing us that bag of dough." Andy moved to do as they said, finally able to hit the button that would call his boys as he loaded the bag. He just wished he could have gotten to it sooner. That poor girl. He didn't even know her name.

Outside, the crow cawed harshly, once, twice, three times.


	3. Chapter 3

I might have to modify the rating for language. (pouts) All because Throttle's a potty mouth. I couldn't talk him out of it, but when upset, grieving, and angry, language ettiquette tends to go out the window. To get the proper impact, you all might want to turn your profanity filters off.

Disclaimer: No own, no own, no own. Sigh.

Chapter 3

Andy moved stiffly, still in shock from the death. Sid and Ron were getting antsy, shifting uneasily at how long it was taking the old man to gather up the money. So no one was paying attention to the crow as it tapped its black beak on the window. No one noticed as the fingers of the dead girl twitched, or as her remaining eye blinked.

The blood on the floor began to flow backward, slowly going back into the body of the dead girl. Her flesh pulled back together. Her eye repaired itself, once again shining blue. Charley slowly sat up, glaring at the two thugs. They still had their backs to her, focusing on the money Andy was getting ready to hand them. She quietly stood and reached over the counter, picking up the man's steel baseball bat.

A tap on the shoulder made Ron turn around. His jaw dropped at the sight of the previously deceased standing behind him, in a perfect batting stance. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Those were my favorite pair of shades, you asshole." She swung the bat down then up, right between his legs. Ron screamed and dropped to the floor, instantly throwing up at the impact. The gun was sent flying across the floor.

Sid stared, unable to believe his eyes. "I shot you."

Charley glared at him. "No shit, Sherlock."

"You should be dead."

Her face set in a grim look. "I already am," she said, swinging the bat again, catching the goon right at the temple. He went stumbling to the floor, moaning and clutching his head. She pulled off the ruined shades from her face, pulling out another pair from the pocket of her coat. "Sorry for the mess, sir," she said, turning back to face the stunned cook as she adjusted them on her nose. "I'll help clean up in just a sec"--

"Look out!" Andy cried, just as Sid lunged for her. She whirled around, grabbing his arm, rolling his weight to her side and throwing him across the bar. Ron jumped up, knife in hand, making quick stabs at her. She dodged each one, snapping out her hand and catching his wrist, pulling him forward so his own momentum made his face smash into the bar. He dropped back to the floor, stunned.

Sid rolled off the counter, twisting so he faced her. "C'mon freak, you want a piece of me?" His arms raised up in a boxer's stance. "C'mon, you ready to die again? I'll oblige you."

She walked towards him, that grim look never leaving her face. She kept going until she was right infront of him, stopping just short of his range. "You don't get it do you? You really don't. You think that no one really cares about the pain you cause, the lives you end, because no one cares about you. So no one else is really real, because no one seems real to you, not even your man over there."

"Stop it," he said, his stance beginning to waver. "What the hell do you know about it? You don't know shit about me!"

"Just so you know, they are real, all the people you killed, all the ones you've hurt. They're all real." She suddenly shot forward inside his guard and punched him hard in the jaw, the force enough to knock him back toward the shop window. "They're waiting on you, on the other side."

"Shut up!" he screamed, reeling from her blow.

She reach out and grabbed his face, her fingers digging into his scalp. "And they're all very, _very_mad at you." Everyone felt it, a sharp pulse of energy going through his head strong enough to push Sid up and out the window, glass shattering everywhere in the rain outside.

Ron cried out in fear as she stalked over to him, grabbing his head like she had Sid's. "As for you? You're just like him: cold, cruel, selfish, and believe me, you are just as damned as he is." The pulse shot out again, and she grabbed his wrist and threw his body forward, right out the window to follow Sid. She jumped out through the broken pane, landing with a large splash in the rain-soaked lot outside.

The chef panted hard from his place behind the register. Andy tried to calm his racing heart, tried to think logically. _The bullet must have just grazed her,_ he said to himself, _it had to have. People don't just get up with half their brains blown out and go like normal!_ He heard both the men suddenly scream, their sounds abruptly cut off. A minute later, the soaked woman walked inside, shaking water off her coat. She came back over to her seat and sat down, taking a deep breath before looking back over at him. "Again, sorry for the mess. I'll help you clean up in just a second, okay?"

"Y-You"--he tried to gather his thoughts, slowly moving back over towards her. His legs were threatening to rebel and send him down to the floor, he was so rattled. "How did you--I mean, I thought he shot you right in the head. I thought"--

Two shots rang out from the parking lot.

The girl whirled in her seat, standing to look out the window. She cried out from what she saw.

Ron had pulled out his own gun, killing Sid and then himself in a murder/suicide.

Charley slumped back against the bar stool, turning back to the counter and setting her head on her folded arms. As much as she hated them, as much as she wanted them to suffer for what they did to her....the idea of killing still left a bad taste in her mouth. So she'd given them what they had given her. Fifteen hours of rape and torture and blood, even murder; each memory as clear and sharp and _**painful **_as the day she died. A bitter smile twisted her lips. The sheer horror and agony must have driven them both insane. Sid might actually have been _grateful _to die at that point.

A hesitant hand reached out and stroked her hair in a gesture of awkward comfort. She raised her head, eyes still hidden behind the shades, but he knew she was looking him in the eye. "You've had a very bad day, haven't you, honey?" he said in odd sympathy.

She gave a soft laugh. "The sad part is, this was just breakfast."

Andy came around the bar and held out his arms to her. The girl stared in surprise for a moment and then went over to him, gratefully taking the comfort he offered. He embraced the young woman like he had once held another girl, one very dear to him, not so long ago.

Charley felt him remebering, felt his sorrow and grief. She could also feel his physical pains; the aches of his joints, the old war wounds, the scars that never fully healed. That, at least, was something she could fix. She leaned into his embrace, focusing.

The grey of his hair slowly faded back to its original color. His slightly stooped shoulders straightened, the pains in his back suddenly gone. The old familiar ache in his left knee disappeared, the knots of tension easing from his body. He wouldn't know it until he looked in a mirror later that night, but he now looked at least twenty years younger.

Andy felt the change, pulling back from her and staring in shock at his arms that suddenly looked like those of a thirty year old. "What? How are you doing this?"

"Just my way of saying thank you. Besides, you're much too young to look so old."

"But I--how"--he seemed to mentally shrug and say _'to hell with it_.' "How can I repay you?"

She embraced him once more, squeezing her arms around his waist before whispering in his ear, "You already have. You took care of them."

"What?"

"Sleep," she whispered. The old man went boneless in her arms, sound asleep. She pulled him over to behind the counter before taking the phone from its place and dialling 911.

*&*&*&*&*&

Modo and Vinnie finished up their patrol in almost total quiet. The white mouse was eager to head off for some privacy. Modo couldnt' help the nervous glances he sent his younger bro. He'd been completely silent. Vincent Van Wham, the motormouth, had been completely silent _all day long_. The grey mouse sighed quietly, as he understood why. Today was never going to be a good day for Vinnie. All he could do was have faith that his younger bro was stronger than his grief. He just prayed that Vinnie would be alive at the end of the day.

Throttle had rode up to their meeting spot, ready to take over the late night shift, when they got the call. The instant they heard the alarm for Chef Andy's go off, the mice rode like the devil was chasing them. Fear made them push their bikes to the limit.

They had lost one friend, they would not loose another.

The sight of the corpses in the front lot, of the shop windows' shattered glass all over the ground, nearly made them sick. "Oh momma," Modo breathed. "What on Mars happened here?"

"Andy?!" Throttle called, jumping from his bike and running up the stairs with his bros right beside him. "Andy, where are you?!" They charged in, praying to whatever deity listening that they would find their friend alive. The man was found on the floor behind the counter. Throttle reached him first, shaking his shoulders. "C'mon, Andy, wake up, man, wake up!"

"Mhh--What?" the human slurred a bit as he came back to consciousness. "Throttle? Boys? What's"--he startled badly as the memory came back, "The girl!! Where's the girl?!"

"What girl?" Throttle said, standing to assess the restraunt.

"The girl in the black coat, you can't miss her. Looks like Snow White."

"Snow White?" Modo said blankly as he helped the dazed man get to his feet.

"Skin white as snow," he answered, his body shaking as he went into shock from the events. "She was shot, the two thugs out there shot her, that poor girl."

"If she's injured, she couldn't have gotten far," Throttle said. He frowned as he took in the room. The various condiments and dispensers had been picked up and set on the edge of the counter. The glass inside had been swept up and off to the side, the broom propped up against the door. Like somebody had left in a hurry in the middle of cleaning up. The frown set deeper. "Andy, I don't see any blood. Where did she get shot?"

"All the blood went back into her, I don't know how," the man said in a shaking voice. "He shot her in the face, Throttle, but she got back up and started kicking the shit out him."

Modo started a bit at the man's language before speaking, "Humans can't recover from a head shot like that."

"I know!" Andy said in amazement. "But she did! Got right back up and used my bat on the bastards. Then she"--he panted a bit as he collected his thoughts--"she grabbed the one guy's head and did something to him, I don't know what, but it blew him right out the window!"

"Andy, maybe you should sit down," Throttle said. He was getting worried, Andy wasn't making sense. "Think. Are you sure she was human?"

"She liked her hot chocolate just the way Charley did."

Vinnie unconsciously flinched at the sound of _her _name before he spoke in a tight voice. "Just means she's got a sweet tooth. Lots of aliens got one of those."

"No, she--when she threw those two out the window, I thought for sure that she was going to kill them. But when she came back in, and the one shot his friend and himself, she looked"--he shook his head. "The poor thing just looked so tired, like all she wanted to do was sleep. For a minute there she looked like a little girl."

"Speaking of looks," Modo frowned at their human friend in confusion. "You been working out or something?"

"What do you mean?"

"You just--I don't know, you just look different. Did you dye your hair?"

"No! It was that girl"--

The sound of sirens in the distance made all of them turn to face the window. Throttle frowned in confusion. "Andy, did you call the cops?"

"No," the chef said in surprise. "I didn't have time, she hugged me and then--then the lights went out," he said ruefully. "She must have knocked me out and called the police."

"Now I really want to know who this chick is," Vinnie muttered, reaching up to grab the small camera they'd installed in the wall earlier in the year. Charley's death had painfully taught them to get better security for their friends. They hurried back to the bikes, promising to be back later to help repair things. The mice got out of there right before the police noticed them, the three splitting up to go their separate ways.

Vinnie had handed the camera off to Modo, and was heading out for some privacy. His bros knew he needed the space today. Modo was going back to the scoreboard to review the tape. He wanted some answers about Andy's new buddy. And Throttle was headed back home.

The tan mouse had been surprised to find himself refering to the garage as home, way back when. It had started three years ago, in the second year they had been on Earth. Charley's place just had that vibe to it, an always ready welcome and open door. It wasn't that he no longer thought of Mars as home. It was just that this was his home on Earth, and Charley had been his sister. And he missed his sister so badly.

He reached the old building, stopping just outside and staring at the sight of the broken window panes and busted side door. "Son of a rat!" he shouted in anger, yanking the helmet from his head. Damn those fucking bastards!! Limburger's goons had trashed the place and they were gonna pay. He stalked forward, pulling the switch for the garage doors to open and rolled his bike inside. The mouse turned, shutting the doors, suddenly jerking around at what he saw.


	4. Chapter 4

To GirlyGeek, Eternalfan, and Hera Ledro. You guys are so awesome.

Everybody, go read their stories. Seriously. Mine can wait. Go! Just be sure to come back to mine and review!

Disclaimer: Never will own a shiny bike or a studly mouse, curse my damn luck....

Chapter 4

A woman in a white tank-top and black jeans, a pair of familiar sunglasses on her face, had stopped in the middle of sweeping the floor. Shoulder-length brown hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail from a chalk-white face. A long black duster was tossed over a tool box to her side. She was staring at him, a look of surprise on her face.

He stared back, yanking off his helmet to see her clearly. "How did you get in here?"

"The back door," she said, her voice soft in disbelief. _Does he not recognize me?_

"It was locked."

"I have a key." _Obviously, he does not._

"No one else has the keys to this place except me and my bros," he said, his voice lowering in anger. "What are you doing here?"

She gave him a look. "Hello? Broom and dust pan not enough clues for you?"

"Lady, I am so not in the mood for this," he warned. "What are you doing here?"

She sighed, "I'm just getting a few things"--

"You are not gonna take a damn thing out of here!" he roared. "This house belongs to Charley, not you!"

"And it doesn't belong to you either!" she shouted at him. She thought quickly,_ I can't tell him who I am, he'd never believe me! But who could I say I am? I'm not that good a liar! _"I have a key, I was given permission a long time ago to come and go as I please in here."

He frowned. "How long ago?"

"Fourteen years ago," she snapped. _Which is true. My dad turned the garage keys over to me so I could work in here when I was eight. But I better make this quick before Throttle gets too suspicious. _She glared at him a minute before saying, "And before you even ask, yes, I do know that Charlene Davidson is dead. I didn't even get to go to the funeral." _Also true. I was trying to make my way through the Afterlife when that debacle took place._

He paused a moment in obvious thought. "What do you need? I'll help you get it, then you move on."

"You are far too magnanimous, kind sir," she said mockingly as she returned to sweeping the floor. "If its not too much trouble, your majesty, I'd like to finish cleaning up first. This place deserves better than to be such a mess."

"Fine," he said, walking over to the small storage closet by the office and pulling out another broom and pan. "Lets get this done." They went about cleaning up in silence, until Throttle's spoke. "You barely even twitched when you saw me."

"Why should I?"

He raised a mocking eyebrow at her. "Hello? Fur, ears, and tail not enough clues for you?"

"Very funny," she said, rolling her eyes behind the sunglasses. "Charley told me about you."

He instantly frowned at that. Charley hadn't told a living soul about them, unless it was either completely necessary, or she completely trusted that person. What had been the case for this girl then? "So how did you know Charley?"

_I am Charley, Throttle-boy. _She sighed. _Guess I just get to play the 'mysterious friend_.' "We grew up together. But we lost touch a while back, and I wanted to come back here to help with a few things before I move on." She tossed the last of the glass and dirt into the garbage can. "I just want two things, then I'm gone, okay?"

"Alright," he said, warily following her up the stairs. "Charley never mentioned you."

"She couldnt' have if she'd tried. Here it is," she said, distracting the tan mouse before he could question her meaning. She headed into Charley's room and went for the small ring box on her end table. Throttle immediately stepped over and put his hand on the lid, a dark scowl on his face. "You are not taking her jewelry."

"Throttle, that's not your decision to make." The woman suddenly exploded into dust, flash-blinding the Martian. He cried out and stepped back, arms raised in defense. A second later, the dust was gone and he heard the revving of another bike behind the garage, tires screaming as it peeled out of the drive. He yanked off his glasses, furiously rubbing his eyes to clear the dirt from them and getting ready to commit murder when he suddenly felt it.

His eyes started to burn and sting like hell. He raced to the bathroom, the small bit of water left in the pipes enough to rinse his eyes out. Throttle said a very obscene word in Martian as he looked back at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot, and it felt like something was still in his eye--wait a minute.

Bloodshot eyes? His eyes were bionic, man-made machines; they didn't have blood vessels to rupture. They couldnt' even feel pain anymore, so how could they be....He noticed an odd glint in the sink, staring at the flakes of metal he found in the bowl. He slowly looked back to the mirror, pulling so close his breath fogged the glass. Real eyes stared back at him, real flesh and blood eyes. He looked around in wonder. Everything was in perfect color, no blurred edges, no merging shades of light and dark.

His eyesight was completely restored.

But how was this possible? Was it something that girl did--oh hell. That girl had wanted--he ran back to the bedroom and saw the ring box opened; the ring of Charley's father and the chain Modo had given her to wear it over her heart were both gone. "Shit!" he swore.

Vinnie was going to kill him.

*&*&*&*&*&

_The Scoreboard_

Modo slowly walked up the stairs to the scoreboard hide-out. It hurt sometimes to come back here. When they'd first arrived on Earth, Charley had picked out their furniture and helped them put in the lights and plumbing. Everywhere he looked there was something to remind him of the sister they had lost. He had been the first to find her body and that terrible vision had never left his dreams. Gods, he hated today.

The Martian forced the thought from his mind. They had other things to worry about now.

He clutched the camera tape tighter, wondering. That girl Andy described didn't sound like any human he had ever heard of. And very few aliens matched the description either. He reached out to open the door to their pad and stopped, stunned. The door was unlocked. He pulled out his blaster just to be safe. Throttle had been the last one out, and his bro never, _ever _forgot to lock the door.

The grey mouse pushed the door open, slowly easing inside. He scanned around, growling at the sight of several open boxes on one side of the room. Those boxes had Charley's things from the garage. Finding no other person around, he assessed the damage. Some of her clothes were gone, her boots, and--oh, momma. The duster Charley had gotten Vinnie for Christmas was gone too. Vinnie loved that coat, the last gift she'd ever gotten him. This was a horrible day as it was, and now this.

Only one thing was missed by the big mouse's eye. A book had been laid on the couch, like whoever had come in had wanted them to see it. It was very old, leather-bound and falling apart. The title read, _The Legend of the Crow_.


	5. Chapter 5

Halloween is getting closer, so my inspiration is still going.

Disclaimer: Never will own a shiny bike or a studly mouse, curse my damn luck....

Chapter 5

"Modo to Throttle and Vinnie! C'mon bros, answer me!" In different parts of the city, two mice stiffened at their bro's panicked voice. Throttle jerked his bike to a stop and pulled his radio out first, "What's up, big guy?"

"You--you guys have gotta get back here. I thought Andy was seeing things, from shock, ya know, but he wasn't and you guys have gotta see this! Get back here, now!"

"Modo, you gotta calm down. What's so bad about it?"

"I-I would swear to the gods--I know it sounds crazy, but--that girl--she came back to life! The guy shot her in the head and she got back up! She came back to life!"

"_No one _can come back from the dead," Vinnie said fiercely. "He had to have just grazed her or something."

"I checked!" Modo insisted. "I played that tape back three times! He shot her in the face, clear in the face, and she hit the ground bleeding, and _she got back up_!"

"We're on our way," Throttle said, revving his bike. He hesitated before speaking, "I had a run in with our mystery girl at the garage."

"The garage?" Modo said in surprise.

"What the hell was she doing there?" Vinnie snapped.

Throttle braced himself for the explosion. "The garage had been trashed"-

_"I'll kill the bitch!!"_ the white mouse roared.

"Not by her, damn it, by Limburger's creeps! She was cleaning it up when I rolled in, said that she was there to pick something up that Charley left. I went with her up to Charley's room"--he paused, really not wanting to say what he was about to, "I'm sorry, Vinnie, she got Charley's ring."

_"WHAT?!!"_

"She blinded me, she just--turned into dust and I couldn't stop her. I'm sorry, bro."

"Turned into dust?! What're you talking about?!"

"She just turned into dust, like a Terelian! By the time I could see again, she was gone, along with the ring and Charley's bike." Terelians were a race that moved long distances by teleporting, a natural ability they were born with. They would scatter their molecules into sub-space, appearing to dissolve into the air.

"Her bike too?!" Vinnie was livid.

Modo spoke up, "We've had Charley's things go missing here too. Her boots and some of her clothes gone, and....aw hell, Vinnie's duster is missing."

"She broke into the board?!" Throttle said in surprise. "How did she get in?"

"That's not important!" the white mouse raged.

"Vinnie, calm down"-

"This bitch is going around stealing Charley's things! We've gotta stop her!"

A sudden burst of static on the radio made the other two mice wince. The channels flipped wildly, and vaguely Throttle and Vinnie could hear Modo shouting in surprise. "Bro? What's going on, man? Modo? Modo?!"

The radio clicked itself off.

Two motorcycles revved for all they were worth, breaking every known speed law on Earth in the dark Chicago night.

*&*&*&*&*&*&*&

Modo looked at the radio in complete surprise. What in the world had just happened? One minute it was fine, the next it went berserk. He suddenly flinched at the realization that he had just cut out on his bros. They'd be panicking for all they were worth about now. He sighed, turning to start cleaning up the small mess at the boxes.

Around ten minutes later, a sudden pounding on the stairs was the only warning he got before his bros burst into the room, blasters drawn. "What happened?! What's wrong?!"

"Bros, chill, its alright. The radio just went crazy on me is all," Modo said.

"That's it? That's all that happened?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," he said sarcastically. He frowned, ready to tell his friends what he'd thought about the break in when he noticed something odd. "Throttle? Bro, where are your specks?"

Throttle took a deep breath to steady his nerves. Modo had rattled him and Vinnie badly. "You won't believe this, but I think that girl did something to me."

"Are you alright?" Modo said worriedly.

"I'm better than alright," the leader said. "Check 'em out," he pointed to his eyes. "See anything different?" Vinnie and Modo looked at each other as if to ask, 'huh?' But they obliged their friend, taking a closer look at his face. Vinnie caught it first. "Your eyes. Those are real eyes."

"What do you mean--oh momma," Modo breathed in wonder as he saw the irises expand and contract naturally against the shifting light. "How did that happen?"

"I have no idea. She went to dust and surrounded me, then was gone. My eyes stung for a minute and when I rinsed them out, the parts of my old eyes were in the sink."

"How's your vision?" Vinnie asked in concern.

"Its perfect, even better than before I lost my eyes," Throttle said, smiling before his expression turned thoughtful. "I don't need my shades on anymore. She might be a thief, but I don't think she's all that bad."

Vinnie's face went dark. "She stole Charley's ring, her bike, and my coat. That's bad enough in my book."

"But why just that?" Throttle said. "Why those things? Modo, you said some of her things are missing here too."

"Yeah, from the boxes," the grey mouse pointed to where they kept her things.

"And that's it?"

"Huh? Yeah, nothin' else is gone."

"And that doesn't seem odd to you?" The mouse frowned to himself. For a break in, it didn't seem to make much sense. "Think about this, bros. Nothing really valuable was taken. The Martian tech communicator is still here, our TV and radio are still here, along with the computer too. The only things that are missing are Charley's." That worried him. Either someone thought they wouldn't be missed, or someone knew just what to take to mess with them. "Why walk into a place loaded with goods and not take anything you can sell? Why take"--he swallowed hard-"-why just take Charley's things?"

"Good point," Modo said thoughtfully. "But what bugs me is she got into the board without even tryin'."

"What do ya mean?"

"The door, it wasn't locked. No dents or dings of someone trying to get in, either."

"You mean she walked right in?" Vinnie said, in complete disbelief. "Throttle, mouse, didn't you lock the door?"

"Of course I did," he said.

"Then how did she get in here?" Modo pressed. "You couldn't get through that door without some serious tools, and there ain't no marks of 'em anywhere." He shook his head. "Ya think this is wild? You gotta check out the video. You ain't gonna believe what ya see."

When the tape had run its course, the other two mice sat back with stunned looks on their faces. "How--how is that possible?" Vinnie said wonderingly, momentarily shocked out of his funk. "She was dead. Pushing daises dead."

"Regeneration of some kind?" Throttle thought out loud.

"Worm food dead."

"No, even the best regenerations take longer than that, and none of them can repair head shots," the tan mouse went on to himself.

"Bought the farm dead."

"A robot of some kind?"

"Kicked the bucket dead."

"Vinnie, shut up!" Throttle and Modo chorused. The white mouse rolled his eyes at them. "I'm just sayin'"--

"_We know_," they said again. "We get it, she was dead."

"I don't like this," Throttle said. "We need to know more about this girl"--he suddenly looked back at the tape, reaching over and pausing in on a certain scene. She had taken off her broken shades and turned her back to the camera, pulling out another pair from the coat's pocket and putting them on before turning back. The mouse stared in surprise. "She--she took my spare pair!"

"Huh?" Vinnie said, turning to look at what his bro was seeing.

"My shades! She's got my spare shades." He couldn't help his angry growl. "And those are my favorite pair too."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Never will own a shiny bike or a studly mouse, curse my damn luck....

Chapter 6

"Of all the low-down dirty stunts Lardbutt could pull, this is the worst! First the bit at Andy's, now this?!" Vinnie shouted as he raced though the factory's scaffolding. "Haven't we had enough for one night?!"

"Give me one second, just one second alone with the creep, I'll show him what happens to jerks who mess with innocent kids!" Modo growled from his spot on Lil' Hoss, waiting for a possible shot with his arm cannon.

"Cool it, bros," Throttle said. "Focus. We gotta figure a way to get the kids out of here first." The mice were deep in the fight with Greasepit and his favorite goons at a smelting factory.

Sweet Georgie Brown had just broadcast the news of a break-in at the city's orphanage, the Martians immediately responding to the call. Greasepit had kidnapped several kids and had the group dangling over a pit of molten lead. The terrified kids were held up by several ropes connected to a railing lining the walkway beside it. Every time the mice would come close enough to try something, goons 1 though 4 would cut another rope, putting more strain on the remaining links. The children, none of them older than eight, were sinking lower and lower to the huge vat of hot metal below them.

Greasepit was waiting for Karbunkle's next order, but something was jamming his radio signal. The mice were using the distraction to try and get rid of the thugs, or at least cut down their numbers.

Modo swerved to avoid some of the punk-loaded dune buggies roaring through the factory. He shot out the tires of one car, and clothes-lined two goons out of another in frustration. "Slag it! How're we supposed to get them out if we can't get near them?!"

"Mind if I help?"

He whirled, coming face to face with who he assumed was the girl from Andy's dinner. She was on Charley's bike, with her helmet in place. The duster fanned out behind her as she pulled up beside him, her gaze intent on Greasepit. He couldn't help his stutter as he got over his surprise at seeing her. "You're--you--Ma'am, if you can help, I don't see how. We can't get anywhere near them."

"You leave that to me," she said, revving her engine. "Just get ready to catch those kids in the next thirty seconds." She gave him no time to answer as she suddenly turned to dust, the bike going with her. He nearly choked, gasping in shock at the sight of her teleporting. "Throttle, Vinnie, heads up!! Mystery girl's going for it!!" the grey mouse shouted.

"What?!" The other two saw as the girl and bike materialized on the scaffolding behind Greasepit. The bike shot forward, charging full speed ahead. Two goons were forced off the ramp, another she kicked viciously in the chest to fall over the railing as she went. Greasepit blasted another rope off, "If youse wants these kids to be all toasted, youse just keep a'comin'!"

She came to a stop, the engive revving to a deafening roar to mirror the anger on her face. "You scum. Hiding behind little kids. Bullying is all you've ever done. Well you can't hide anymore!!" She let go of the brake as she disappeared, suddenly appearing right in front of the greasy villian. The bike screamed forward and with pure momentum the girl caught him with a choke-hold. The villain was sent up into the air, the rope shooting up and the kids began screaming as they began to fall down. She cut the bike hard, his weight still going and tossing him off the railing to the vat of boiling metal thirty feet below.

The scream was a rather theatrical touch.

Thankfully, his greater weight and literal death grip on the remaining rope had pulled the children back up as he'd fallen, but once he'd let go in death--The mice raced towards them, knowing the rope was still too high up to catch in time--

The girl was already moving, her bike roaring as she shot out above the vat, nearly twisting off the bike to catch the rope and pulling with all her strength. It was enough, and the kids went flying up in the air from momentum at an angle to fall away from the deadly metal. She let go of the rope to give them falling room as she landed on some scaffolding across the room. Modo shot out and easily caught the frightened children, pulling to a stop so he could untie them and they could calm down. Throttle and Vinnie saw the rest of the goons out of the factory with several missiles to their buggies, sending them back to Limburger in classic style.

But the victory was short lived. "Danny!" One of the girls cried, holding a tiny body close. She couldn't help her tears as she rocked the little boy. "Danny, please, wake up, its okay now! They saved us, its okay, please wake up!" She curled around him, crying.

Modo could do nothing to comfort the poor girl. He knew that little kid from the times he'd gone to play at the orphanage. Danny had severe asthma. The stress of being kidnapped had triggered an attack, the hot fumes from the metal had made it even worse. His tiny body hadn't been able to survive the trauma. The mouse knew tears were streaming from his eye. Danny had only been four years old.

"Oh no," Throttle said in sorrow. He came off his bike, kneeling down beside his bro. He reached out and gently brushed the hair from the little boy's face. "I'm so sorry, kid."

Vinnie sniffed hard from his spot on his bike. They were too late. Damn it all to hell, why were they always too late?! He started as a bike pulled beside his, the girl from before. He glared at her. "You've got some nerve coming here. You have some serious explaining to do. What the hell are you doing with Charley's things?"

"Later, Vinnie," she said as she dismounted from her bike and ignored his angry outburst behind her. She went over to the grey mouse, kneeling beside Throttle. She gasped at the sight of the dead child in Modo's arms. "What happened?"

"Danny--he has asthma, he couldn't--the sons of bog-dogs wouldn't let him take his inhalor," Modo choked out. "He's dead, the poor little guy." The mouse began to cry full out. It was too much like back on Mars, when they hadn't been able to clear the city in time before the Plutarkians had started bombing. They'd dug for any survivors in the ruins, only finding the broken and dead, from the old to children barely of walking age.

She pressed a hand to her mouth in horror. "Oh, god, no." She looked up to the rafters of the factory. Throttle followed her gaze and saw a large black crow with brilliant, almost glowing blue eyes. He frowned as a memory pulled at him, he knew he'd seen that bird before. It cawwed down to the girl, shaking its head in what seemed like denial. She kept up her look, a pleading forming on her face. The bird shook, ruffling its feathers. "Please," she whispered. "What else is this power for, if not to make things right?"

The bird cawwed again, even harsher than before, but it softened towards the end. She smiled up at it, a quick thanks whispered under her breath before she spoke out loud. "Hand him here," she motioned for the boy.

Modo balked at this. "No, no, you can't take him"--

"What are you going to do?" Throttle interjected.

"I'm going to try something to help, I don't know if it'll work," she said. "Please, let me try?"

The mice glanced at each other before the grey mouse reluctantly handed the body over to her. She pulled him close, curling her body around the child. For one moment, nothing happened, and then--

--a weird shimmering energy, not really there, barely visable, coming from her chest--

A quick breath, a choked cough, and then someone was crying. She pulled back, lowering the now crying boy so that he could sit on the floor. Everyone stared in shock as the girl, Emily, pulled Danny close in disbelief, whispering that it was all okay now, the bad men were gone. Emily turned a tearful look back to the woman. "You brought him back. You really brought him back."

Throttle stared in awe at the figure beside him. First his eyes, now this. _Who was this girl?_

She slowly stood from her spot on the floor, swaying on her feet. "Be sure you take care of him, okay? He'll be a little sick for a while, but it should be al....right...." Her knees buckled and she would have crashed to the floor if Modo and Throttle hadn't caught her. Vinnie came over in complete shock as they helped lay her down on the floor. "Did she--did she really just--I mean, you're absolutely sure the kid was dead? Ow!"

He shut up when a tail smacked him upside his head.

Modo frowned as he rubbed the thin arms under the duster's sleeves. "She's cold as ice, and way too pale. This took a lot out of her."

"We're taking her back to the board," Throttle said, pulling her up into his arms. "Modo, Vinnie, get the kids back to the orphanage. I'll take her on over."

One of the other kids came over, pulling on the edge of Throttle's vest to get his attention. "You--you won't hurt her, right? She saved Danny."

"Don't worry, we'll take care of her," Throttle assured the boy. "We'll make sure she's alright." They loaded up and headed out, all three mice more than ready to get some answers when they got back to the Scoreboard.

*&*&*&

Throttle carried the unconscious girl up to the scoreboard. As soon as he got her inside, he laid her down on the couch and went to get her some blankets. The mouse got her out of the wet duster and covered the shivering girl up to keep her warm. A harsh caw startled him, making him look toward the main window. The same black crow with intense blue eyes was staring at him.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt her." Throttle mentally berated himself for talking to a bird, but she had done the same thing. And it had seemed to understand her, even talk back to her in a way she understood. The crow cocked its head and actually nodded to the suprised Martian, tapping on the glass with its beak. "You want in?" It nodded again. He went over and opened the window, allowing the bird to fly inside and up to rest on the back of the couch.

The mouse gave the bird a serching look. "I don't guess you'd be able to tell me what's going on, would ya?" The bird looked over to the side of the room and cawwed twice. Throttle went over and saw a book that he had brushed aside when he'd cleared the couch for their guest. The book's title read _The Legend of the Crow._ He made to start reading when the roar of motorcycle engines came from outside. His bros walked in a minute later.

"How's she doin'?" Modo asked, going over to check on her.

"Cold as ice, so I tried warming her up with blankets and turned up the heater," Throttle replied. "Nothin' else seems wrong with her though."

"Sounds right," the grey mouse said as he sat back on the coffee table by the couch. "She looks a lot better too."

"From when she was shot by the creep at Andy's diner, or when she just brought a kid back to life?" Vinnie said, holding onto the black duster that had been Charley's gift to him. "What the hell is going on with this chick? Is she the second coming or what?"

"Cool it Vincent," Throttle said. The crow cawwed as if to agree.

Modo almost jumped a mile. "Why'd you let that thing in here?"

"It seems to be hers," the leader replied. "I figured she'd want it safe." He didn't think it a good idea to tell his bros that he'd been chatting it up just minutes earlier.

"So long as it doesn't wake her before she's ready, we'll be fine, alright?" the grey mouse said to the bird. It nodded to him. "Whoa. Must be a smart one."

The girl shifted on the couch, her face twisting to a look of pain. Modo looked her over again, but found nothing wrong. She started to murmur in her sleep, dreaming of something awful by the sound of it. Modo knew if she turned too sharply she'd scratch herself with those glasses still on, and reached over and gently pulled the helmet off and the shades from her face--

All three mice went frozen, almost afraid to move. They recognized that face: the shape of her eyes, the freckles on her cheeks. The girl suddenly cried out in fright in her dream, jerking awake. Wide blue-green eyes searched the room and latched on to the nearest familiar face. "Modo?" Tears began to fall from her aqua colored eyes, "Modo, I had the worst dream."

They finally recognized her voice, the one that had helped cheer them up, made them laugh with corny jokes, had sung in low husky tones. The grey mouse was nearly catatonic with shock, and shakingly he leaned toward her and opened his arms to hold her. "Ch-Charley?"


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Never will own a shiny bike or a studly mouse, curse my damn luck....

Chapter 7

She gratefully dove into the warmth his arms offered, nuzzling her face against his soft fur. "I--I'm sorry to be acting like such a wuss," she said, her voice still trembling. "God, that nightmare was terrible. It felt so real." She glanced around and startled a bit at seeing the other two mice. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Y-you're fine, we were all up anyway," Modo said, dazed disbelief making him almost dizzy. He could smell her unique scent, could feel her, warm and alive in his arms, but this couldn't be real. Could it? He couldn't keep the quaver from his voice as he said the name they were all thinking of. "Charley-girl?"

Charley pulled back from her friend's arms. "Yeah? What is it, big guy?" She cupped his cheek, a worried look on her face. "Are you alright, Modo? You look like you haven't slept in days."

"Its been a little crazy around here, Charley-girl," he said, a smile spreading across his face as he pulled her in for a tight hug._ I don't care how this happened, I don't care if I'm dreaming! She's here! _"We missed you."

She let out a squeak of surprise at the embrace, "M-Modo, honey, I need to breathe."

He immediately let go, fussing over her. "Sorry, Charley-girl."

"H-how is this possible?" Throttle said in shock, never taking his eyes off her. He almost stumbled as he came next to the couch, "Charley?" He touched her shoulder, not believing she was really here. She smiled at him, a familiar warmth reaching her eyes as she spoke, "I didn't expect this kind of reaction from sleeping on the couch. " She gasped in surprise as she was almost swallowed by tan-furred arms, his trembling voice saying over and over, "Oh goddess, this isn't possible. I can't believe you're really here. Oh, goddess."

"Easy big guy, it can't be that big a surprise. Remember, I have a key to get in," she said, worry in her voice as he pulled back to look at her.

"I know, its just I"--he suddenly burst out laughing, almost hysterically. "Oh goddess. Holy Mars, I forgot you had a key. I thought I was loosing my mind when the door was unlocked." He sat back beside his grey bro, unable to stop his voice's shaking. "I can't believe you're really here."

She glanced over at Vinnie, smiling bright at the sight of him, "Are you gonna ambush me next, handsome?" She paused as the sight of him registered. He looked shockingly pale, his skin gone white under his fur, his entire body seeming to be rocked by fine tremors, his red eyes far too wide open in surprise. She gasped softly at how completely exhausted he looked, like a strong wind would knock him over and maybe even shatter him in the fall.

The hyper mouse found his feet frozen to the ground, unable to move from sheer disbelief. His sweetest dreams always started like this. She would be right in front of him, alive and well and smiling at him and as soon as he dared to move, speak, _breathe_---the dream would shatter, forcing him awake into a nightmare world where she didn't exist anymore. But his bros had never been in the dreams before. They'd never seemed so shocked to see her before. Could it be? Was he still dreaming? His voice was soft and shaking as he gathered up every bit of his courage to speak, "Ch-Charley-girl? Baby?"

"Vinnie," she said softly in reply. She untangled herself from the tan and grey mice and stood up, slowly walking forward until she was in front of him. Warm hands stroked the sides of his face, wiping away tears that he hadn't even noticed falling. "V, what's wrong?"

His eyes went impossibly wider. 'V', oh goddess of blessings, nobody else called him that, not even Harley. Not even in his dreams. "Charley-girl!" he cried, "Oh god, Charley!" He pulled her into his shaking arms, holding her as close as he could, afraid beyond words to let her go. His tail spasmed and twitched as it wrapped tightly around her waist. He had to be dreaming. He'd fallen asleep somehow and was missing her so badly he was dreaming she was really there.

The white mouse pushed his face into the crook of her neck, inhaling her unique scent of vanilla and slight traces of gasoline and motor oil. He curled his arms around her, lifting her up into his embrace, the weight of her slender body more familiar to him than his own name. He dared to pull back just enough to stare into her eyes, the brilliant colors swirling. Ocean, azure, aqua, cerulean, electric, sapphire, crystal, sky. Blue. Beautiful, dazzling blue.

It was her.

_It really was her._

It all made sense to him now. She had taken the clothes and bike and boots because she wanted her things. She'd taken the ring back, her father's ring, and the chain was something Modo had given her as a present. She's always liked Throttle's shades, and the duster was a gift from her to her mouse. It made sense now why she'd taken them: she'd wanted the proof of their love for her kept close to her. That was so Charley.

"Oh, baby, you were gone, we couldn't save you, (_gasp_) oh goddess," he cried, his breath hitching in his chest as the terrible memories of that day tore through his mind. Vinnie finally did something he hadn't done since the day he'd lost her. The white mouse broke down and wept outright. "I'm sorry, oh Charley, I'm so sorry, we should have been there, we should have come, should have _known_. Oh goddess, _we never should have left you alone_!" He couldn't' help the sobs that tore from him as he fell to his knees, pulling her down to his lap. His entire body curled around her, refusing to let her go.

She wrapped her arms tight around him, trying to soothe him as best she could. "Shh, V, I'm here, its okay." She nuzzled her cheek against his, raining kisses along his jaw and mouth to try and rouse him from the awful grief that wouldn't let go of him. "Please, babe, you're scaring me, what's wrong?" She looked back to the other two mice in bewilderment. "What is going on? Why are you guys acting like this"-

The crow cawed, a sharp bark of sound, once, twice, three times. Throttle, Modo, and even Vinnie jerked at the sound to watch the strange bird as it locked its blue eyes on Charley's own.

Her eyes widened, and the mice could almost see the memories come back to her. She went still in Vinnie's arms, a single tear sliding down her face as she turned to look at him. The girl rubbed her cheek against his and gave a soft kiss to his mouth. "I'm sorry," she said quietly as she dissolved into dust.

_**"No!" **_Vinnie screamed, whirling to try and find her.

"Charley!" The others called out, searching for her. The faintest rustle of feathers was the only warning they got as the crow hopped up to the window where she was crouched to jump, the duster and helmet clutched in her arms. She looked back to them, tears falling in earnest down her face. "I'm sorry," she wept, "I shouldn't have come."

"No!" Vinnie cried, reaching for her, "You can't leave me again, Charley, you can't!"

"I can't stay," she said, her voice thick with pain and greif. "Bros, I can't stay with you. The dead have no place among the living." She leaped backwards out into space, nothing there to catch her fall. The mice lunged forward, anything to stop her jump, but when they looked nothing was there. Only the sight of a large black crow winging across the late night sky.

"Tell me I was dreaming," Vinnie said bleakly as he sank to his knees once more, burying his face in his hands. "Tell me, please, bros."

"If it's a dream, wake me up too," Modo said, tears falling from his eye. He turned to his tan bro. "Throttle? Bro, what is goin' on? How is any of this possible?"

"I don't know, but I know how to find out," the tan mouse said, wiping the tears out of his eyes. He walked over to where the old book lay, bringing it back over to the couch and setting it down on the coffee table. The book showed dozens of stories from cultures around the world, all bearing the symbol of a black bird, its wings spread wide. "The Legend of the Crow. The bird pointed this out to me," he said. "Normally, I would say that sounds crazy, but today has left everything else in the dust on the insanity meter."

"No joke, bro," Modo said as he sat beside him. "So what does it say?"

The tan mouse began to read aloud:

_"In the beginning, when man first walked the earth, there lived a clever man named Crow. He saw how all those that died before him walked the Spirit Road, a long, dangerous journey to the next world that few souls survived to the end without being eaten by the monsters that lived in the mists. When Crow lay dying, he called to the Black Bird and made this bargain: "Give me your wings so that I may fly to the next world, and I will give you my flesh to eat." The bird agreed. Soon, this deal was made with all mankind, and it is honored to this day. The Black Birds took the name of the human who created their contract, and are forever known as the Crows. _

_"But one day came the soul of a human that had died in terrible sadness; despair so great that the wings crumpled and the soul fell to the Spirit Road. The monsters, starved from so long without souls to eat, hunted it mercilessly throughout the mists. The crow had been dragged down as well, and guided the human to the end of the Road, where they reached the Judge of Souls' Fate. The human begged for the chance to return to the human world, to make things right. The Judge left it to the crow to decide, and the bird, moved by the human's story, chose to grant the human its own mortal life. _

_"The human returned to its original form, tearing from the earth and assuming life once more. No weapon could harm it, nor fire or water. No holy magic could hold it back, for it came with the Judge's blessing, and the right of Judgment upon evil. The human was as the immortals, unable to die, or rest, or know peace, until the evil that had banished it from life was no more. When it saw the pain and sorrow of its loved ones caused by the evil beings, it pleaded for the magic of the Crows and was granted incredible powers, and undid much of the pain of its loved ones. _

_"The evil found the one weakness of the immortal, and were quick to hunt it down. The crow that had granted its life and powers to the human, if killed, could render the human powerless, and able to die as a mortal once more. But though their efforts were great, the bird escaped their nets and snares, being the eyes of the human to help swiftly find their prey. They could even see into the eyes of the evil ones, and know their past evil deeds, the better to punish their wickedness._

_"When the evil was defeated, and all the souls sent to receive their judgment, the human returned to the earth, its soul no longer weighed down. Thus was the legend born of avenging angels, one that returns to the world to make right what has been made wrong with the powers of the Crow. Be they blessed or cursed, saved or damned, is a fate that is taken to the grave with them."_


	8. Chapter 8

To Eternalfan, GirlyGeek, Hera Ledro, delunatic, Zuzany, griff-chan, Stebba stud28, and roseprincess1. Thank you all for your support.

Sorry this took so long, but for some reason, angsty stuff is a lot harder for me to come up with. What can I say? I think maybe my muse figures that I've had enough drama in my life without sending it out to everyone else as a story. But many a person has asked for more of this, so I will try my best to deliver.

Chapter 8

It was very quiet after Throttle finished speaking, the silence broken by Vinnie, his voice lost and dazed. "So what do we do now? How can we help her? We-we can't just leave her to face Limburger alone."

"I don't know, bro," Throttle said softly. He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat, "No matter what we do, she'll die. No matter what happens tonight, she has to die again." He shook his head and said bitterly, "The dead have no place among the living."

"Its not fair!" Vinnie cried, grief ringing in his voice. "Its not fair! Why would they bring her back to just take her away so soon?"

"To make it right," Throttle said firmly, a steely glint in his eyes. "She came back to make it right, and we're going to help her."

"How? We don't even know how to find her," Modo said.

"We don't have a tracker on Charley," Throttle said, going over to their garage and checking his bike's radar. A bright blip was registering on its scanners. "But I know we never took the tracer off her bike. She's headed southeast, towards what's left of the forestry."

"Why would she go there?" Modo wondered as he hurried to get on his bike, Vincent not two steps behind him.

"She took out two of Limburger's goons at Chef Andy's, and Greasepit. Andy said the crow with her called out when they came in," Throttle thought out loud. "But she didn't really go after any of the goons at the factory. Just Greasepit. Why go after those three in particular? Unless she had history with them," he concluded grimly.

Vincent growled low. "You don't think they're the ones that ki-"-he would never be able to say these words without stumbling-"killed her? They're the ones that took her away from us?"

"The police report said it was five or six guys, from the evidence they found. And that would explain all the oil that was there," Modo replied, his red eye starting to glow in anger. "If what the legend says is true, then she's going after the rest of them. And with the other three dead, whoever's left is hiding out in the one place they think she can't find-"

"Limburger's base," the three said in unison. They sped off into the night, following the signal to the lair of their worst enemy. Fog started to pour over the city, warm southern wind mixing with the colder air of Lake Michigan. It gave them just enough cover to not be seen through the dim night. Modo thought over the story they'd heard. "What about the bird? The crow?"

"What about it?" Vinnie asked.

"Its her weakness," Modo said in horror. "If Limburger or Karbunkle kill the bird, it'll kill her too! We have to protect it!"

"Easier said than done," Throttle muttered. "At least the crow's smart enough to stay out of a firefight." They rode through the sad remains of the once beautiful forest park, charred stumps and naked rocks all that was left after Limburger had razed it to the ground. They dimmed their lights as false dawn gave them just enough light to see, and they didn't want to alert any potential guards to their presence. "Her signal's just up ahead," Throttle said quietly.

Charley sat atop the blue and white bike, staring out into the foggy night. The crow was circling overhead, seeming to look for something. It called out three times to her, and she stiffened. With a shake of her head, she flipped the switch on her helmet's communicator, a bit surprised that it still worked after all this time. "You guys can come out. I won't run."

With a barely heard purr of their engines, the three bikers pulled up beside her. For a moment, no one said anything. Until-

"Would you really have a party without us, sweetheart?" Vinnie asked quietly.

She found a chuckle. "Of course not. I know better. This is as much your fight as mine."

"Charley," Throttle said softly. "We know about the crow. We read the book. You left it there for us, didn't you?"

"Of course," she said, still not looking at them. "I wanted to be sure you know what was happening. You guys don't do well with not knowing what's going on."

"You don't have to do this, Charley," Modo said pleadingly. "You don't have to"-

"Yes I do," she bit out. "Don't you get it? That's the only reason they let me come! To make right what went wrong. I can't fix everything. I can't," she motioned to the ruined forest around them, "fix this. But I can make sure that the ones that killed me pay for it. And that the ones that sent them for me goes down too."

"Sent them?" Vinnie growled.

"Who else? Limburger and Karbunkle," she said grimly. "I know they did terrible things to you, bros. I know that you have first dibs on those scum-buckets. But I," she absently traced the back of her head with her fingers, over where the old wounds that killed had been, making the Martians shiver at the memory. "I have a higher claim, I think." She finally looked over at them. "You don't mind, do you?"

Throttle paused, and then slowly shook his head. "Nah. You do what you need to do. But you're not doing it alone."

"What?"

"We're coming with you," Vincent said firmly. "Whether you like it or not."

They'd expected her to protest, but instead, she gave them a small smile. "I'm glad. I've had enough of doing things solo. I missed you three," she said sadly.

Vinnie leaned over and pulled her into his arms, the girl embracing him tightly. "We've missed you more," was all he said.

The crow cawed to Charley, and she pulled back to look at it. Her eyes turned jet black and hazed over, making her sway in his arms. He held her tighter, "Charley? Charley-girl, you alright?"

She slowly blinked the haze away, and her eyes shifted back to the familiar blue. "I'm fine. The crow showed me how to get in. There's a shipment of lumber coming in. They have to open the base's doors to let it in."

Modo smiled, "So we wait for them to open the doors"-

Throttle grinned, "Ride in with guns blazing"-

"Find every goon in there and make them wish they'd never been born," Vincent said, his grin nothing short of feral.

"And make Limburger and Karbunkle pay for what they've done once and for all," Charlene said grimly. "And I don't mean taking them to Mars for a trial. I mean I will take them out, permanently. I have been charged, by the Judge of the Gate, to bring them to the next world, and I will do it. You guys understand that?"

They exchanged glances and looked to her with a nod. "We understand, Charley-girl," Throttle said, a hint of sadness in his voice. She should never have to dirty her hands with something like this.

She found a real smile. "You know, I've always wanted to say this. Lets Rock"-

"And Ride!" her bros shouted beside her as they raced off into the night.

The truck idled quietly as the nervous driver twitched in his seat. Three of his five escorts to the base hadn't reported in, and no one had met him at the gate like they were supposed to. Greasepit was supposed to have met him at the lumber yard to protect him if the Biker Mice showed up, but the stupid oil-slick had never showed. Neither had Sid or Ron. He'd radioed in the discrepancy to the communication's operator like he was supposed to, but the guy just said that the guys had just called in not a minute before he did. Apparently they had got caught up changing a tire, and were on their way in. The operator cleared him for entrance, and the part of the hillside that was in front of him shimmered, then disappeared entirely, the large metal doors now plain for anyone to see.

Got to love holographic camouflage.

He slowly eased the truck in, every nerve he had on edge. Something was wrong. He couldnt' put his finger on it, but something was giving him the creeps like there was no tomorrow. He would clock out early tonight and head home as soon as he could. The man turned off his rig, just as the missing three escorts pulled up outside. He turned to shout at them for being so late when the sounds of fists hitting flesh was heard. He started to tremble, knowing that the day he'd feared for so long had finally come.

A hand, wreathed in glowing arcs of energy, curled into a fist.

A metal arm was raised, the tri-cannon mounted in it armed and ready to fire.

Light glinted off a metal mask, green flares of brilliant white fire sparking to life.

The Biker Mice from Mars had finally found them.

Found _him_.

Oh god, they had found him! He hadn't known the gang was going to kill that Davidson girl, he'd just been the lookout! If they knew he'd been there that day, he'd be dead-

A tap on his shoulder made him tear his eyes away from the three Martians standing in front of him. One look into those cold blue eyes, and he felt his heart stop in his chest.

It was _her_.

Her! _Davidson_! It wasn't possible, it couldn't be! But here she stood in front of him-

She lifted up one hand, her index finger pointed out from her fist, just close enough for the tip of her finger to touch his forehead, and spoke one word. "Bang."

His body convulsed as images ripped through his weak mind, each memory carving itself into his brain. Pain, fear, shame, horror; torture, humiliation, and finally death-

The man collapsed to the floor. Only the whites of his eyes showed, and foam was dripping out of his mouth. Charley knelt down and pressed two fingers to his throat. "He'll live," she said, standing once more and getting on her bike once more. "C'mon guys. We have work to do," she said. The crow's caw sounded like laughter as it followed after them. The four headed deeper into the building, and somewhere in the lowest levels, Benjamin Boris Karbunkle shivered for no reason he could find.


	9. Chapter 9

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Chapter 9

Sirens blared throughout the base. Alarms were going off for the first time in a year, the henchmen scrambling to their positions. Laser pistols were brought out, the turret guns acitvating. Laser-fire could already be heard in the upper levels. Security cameras all over the base were displaying the intruders on their monitors, making every goon there shiver in fear and grin in anticipation.

The Biker Mice had finally found them. But those furry freaks were outnumbered more than 30 to 1. They were outgunned, their puny aresenel nothing compared to combined might of the base's hundreds of laser guns and cannons. They were in unfamiliar territory. Surely they knew they couldn't win!

But then again, those Martian Mice had won against odds like this before.

They were the epitome of 'quality beating quantity.'

Modo was having a ball, his missles and arm cannon carving holes and gapping tears in the walls of the first level. He roared in victory as he found the ammunitions storeroom, lacing it with timed bombs and destroying several caches of chemical and biological weapons. Throttle was using his bike's cannons to carve out the floor, sending tons of wood and metal from the base's unloading dock to the next level down. He raced down to the lower levels to start the same over again, wanting to make sure that this base never survived their arrival.

Vinnie was working off the anger and rage of more than a year of being denied the vengence he'd craved. Goons and henchmen were screaming in terror as they ran from the hail of laser fire and white phospherous flare that he unleashed. Not many survived if they were caught by his terrible fists. His war cry echoed throughout the base, a chilling sound that promised death to anyone that he targeted.

But what terrified Limburger's men the most was the gaze of the girl. The woman they knew was dead, had made sure she was dead. Hell, they'd thrown a huge beer bash on the day of her funeral! She was walking around like it was nothing to come back from a pile of ashes!

She gazed up into the cameras as the docking bay burned around her, seeming to lock eyes with every man in the base that saw the monitors. Her face was chalk white, her blue eyes burning with cold fire, the black marks that sliced down her face that only her enemies could see shining like whorls of fresh ink. Charlene Davidson smiled into the camera, her smile cold and deadly as she said only one thing.

"Hello boys. I'm coming for you."

* * *

The alarms rang in the lounge room, several villians glancing up in surprise. Nearly the entire Scum of the Universe were assembled in the more comfortable levels of the base; since Limburger wasn't blowing money to rebuild his Tower, he could now hire the entire group for his exclusive protection. It was especially nice now that they finally had those Biker Mice on the ropes. They'd constantly badgered those three Martians, never letting them rest or recuperate enough to truly be effective at fighting with the villians. The bad guys were finally winning on Earth, and victory was close at hand! And now this had to happen.

Electro-Mag waved a hand and the monitors clicked on as Limburger's voice sounded over the intercom system. "Could someone kindly take care of those ridiculous rodents and their new little friend? NOW!"

"Alright, we're up, cheese," Tunnel Rat growled as he got up from the couch. He glanced over at the monitors to assess the situation and froze. "Isn't - hey," he grabbed a passing Lugie brother by the shoulder and pointed to the screen. "Hey, isn't that chick that Davidson girl they killed awhile back?"

"Ya, that's her," Hacka said in his heavy accent. "Looksa lika they messed that up, eh?"

"But we saw it!" Tunnel Rat said in shock, letting go of the foul-smelling Plutarkian. "We saw them burn her body!"

"So what?" Corroder Cody said as he was heading out the door. "The Mice snapped and dug up her ashes and made her a zombie or something, who cares? It ain't nothing my corroding can't handle," he said proudly, the metal door melting and rusting at his touch as he headed out to face the Biker Mice.

"But its not possible," Tunnel Rat muttered to himself, a voice in the back of his head screaming that he knew what that 'zombie' really was. "No human can bring someone back to life. No one can do that!" A flutter of motion from the monitors drew his eyes back to the screen, and what he saw there made him freeze, his body locking in terror, his voice choking itself in absolute horror and fright.

Black wings. A black bird. No antennae, not the black shaka-bird of Mars, but - He gulped as he saw the large black bird perch on Davidson's shoulder as she walked through Vincent's flames like they were nothing, casually knocking away any henchman stupid enough to try and attack her. A white face with black markings around the eyes, a black bird that guided their soul back from the land of the dead-Tunnel Rat felt his body start shaking as his brain went numb with shock, backing away from the monitors as he babbled out, "Black wings, black death, its starting, oh gods, she's coming for us, coming to kill us all! Run! Run, you can't stop her! _She'll kill us all! She's a **Black Winged Shaka! An Avatar of Death! Run! Run**_!"

The Martian Rat turned and ran as fast as he could to Karbunkle's lab, knocking over goons and staff without heed as he raced through the metal halls. He nearly sent Karbunkle over his own lab table as the rat lunged for the transporter, frantically pounding in the coordinates to Black Rock Asteroid. "Oh gods, she's here, I didnt' do it, I didn't kill her, I had nothing to do with it, I didnt' even drink that much at the party, she'll kill us all - _work, you stupid peice of Plutarkian shit! **Work**!" _The booth glowed electric yellow as it finally booted up, the Rat jumping in without a second glance. The machine suddenly sputtered and began to smoke, the controls fizzing ominously before frying completely, the panel sparking as it died.

Karbunkle growled out curse words as he righted himself, absently ordering Fred the Mutant to use a extinguisher to put that electrical fire out. You just couldn't find reason ably insane, quality mercenaries for hire these days! And what the hell was the stupid Rat talking about? He clicked on the security monitors to check the base and gaped in horror. _No. The Biker Mice are here? How did they find us? It was impossible for them to have found their way here on their own! _He yanked open the transporter's control panel, horrified at seeing the smoking mess of wires and circuits that remained. It would be days to fix this mess. No one could leave the base by transporter now.

He glanced over at the monitors to double check the mice's progress, judging how close they were to reaching his lab. And who is that wretched woman with them-

The mad scientist stared in shock. _It couldnt' be. It couldn't be! How? She was dead! How the hell had she managed to come back to life? No, don't be ridiculous. Its some kind of cybernetics, or a robot, or some kind of magic hocus-pocus. But then where did those rotten rodents manage to find something like that? It couldn't be that stupid mechanic!_

_Unless..._

Tunnel Rat was from Mars. Mars had a history of bloodshed and war even before the Plutarkians came. Vengence was in the blood of all three sentient species. All of them told stories about a wronged person coming back to life, a black shaka bird said to guide them to their enemies. They were called the Avatars of Death, a Shaka Warrior. Mars had dozens of legends about people coming back from the dead like that.

Earth had them too, and not too long ago, some of their contacts out in Los Angelas had reported seeing one of their victims come back from the dead a year after they had been killed. Some man named Eric Draven, was it? The entire Plutarkian operations had been burned to the ground in that city, and every Plutarkian agent and spy had been killed; the human employees all screaming that it had been some guy with a crow by his shoulder.

Karbunkle looked back at the sceen, where the mechanic was racing through the levels of the base, searching for someone. That white mouse wasn't far behind her, firing lasers and missles to clear her path as she ran. A black crow was flying low to the ground behind them both.

Tunnel Rat was right. A Crow had come back from the dead.

The scientist had researched them before, back when he'd first arrived on Mars. Especially after several prominent Plutarkian generals had been assasinated, each one in different areas, different ways, and apparently all by the same person. A Mouse that was said to be dead, led by a black shaka-bird. That mouse had been shot, stabbed, gassed, poisoned, drowned, even beheaded, and still he had completed his mission to kill the generals. He had been immune to death, and that shaka bird had something to do with it, Karbunkle had been sure. He'd looked up the legends incase anything like that decided to come after him one day.

That day was now. Charlene Davidson had come back as a Crow.

He grinned his gap-toothed, evil smile. He would finally be able to experiment on a Crow and learn the secrets to immortality! He then frowned. He had a bird to catch. The trick would be getting past those raging Biker Mice. Karbunkle grinned. It had been a year since he'd had a real challenge. To think he'd actually started to miss those miscreant Mice.

* * *

Charley ran at a fast clip, her boots pounding down the metal hallways. Vinnie's laser cannons shot out any turrets or guns that threatened her path, the white mouse refusing to leave her side. She hadn't tried to stop him. The girl feared that is she did, he might do something very, very stupid to try and catch up to her.

They were heading toward the worst smelling part of the base, sure that this was where Limburger was hiding. Unfortunately, Hacka and Honka Loogie were legendary for their stink, even among Plutarkians. "Look, brother! Its the Mouse and his dead girlfriend!" Honka cackled as he charged his laser rifles.

Vincent's eye twitched and his mouth pulled back in a snarl, his hands clenching around his bike's handlebars. His bike revved deeply, its anger fully apparent.

"Ohh, I think calling her dead made him mad," Hacka giggled.

Vincent's fingers twitched on the triggers of his laser cannons. "Babe, you don't mind if I beat the hell out of them, right?"

She smiled, "Oh no, not at all. Have fun!"

"Don't go too far ahead of me," he scolded, casually aiming for Honka's head and shooting it off his scaled shoulders.

"I won't," she promised, wincing as some of the foul-smelling blood touched her boot. She went to wipe it off as Hacka screamed in fury, attacking Vinnie with his laser rifles. The white mouse kept the Plutarkian flunky busy as Charlene headed deeper into the level, her Crow telling her that Limuburger wasn't far ahead.

The Big Cheese would die tonight.

Unknown to her, the security cameras moved, their sites locked on the black bird that flew by her side.


End file.
